


i apologize if you feel something (but love is all we have)

by cutyourteeth (mothsandaxemurderers)



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Happy Ending, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Smut, based on a manhwa, dumbasses to lovers, this took me forever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:40:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 18,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29188686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothsandaxemurderers/pseuds/cutyourteeth
Summary: The room is too dark to properly see her face, but Jinsol can sense Sooyoung’s eyes on her. “Well,” Sooyoung says slowly, “it seems as if you’ve been having trouble sleeping. I thought it’d be better if there was someone next to you…”“How would you know that?”“I saw your pill bottle. The sleeping pills.”Jinsol lays there, quiet. She hadn’t expected Sooyoung to be so observant. It’s an alien feeling, being looked after.“If you want,” Sooyoung says, “I can go back to my room.”Jinsol rolls back over to face the other side of the room. “Just stay here.”After surviving a nearly deadly attempt on her life, Jinsol is sent out to an abandoned villa in the country for her own safety. She’d expected to endure her unofficial exile in solitude, but hadn’t counted on the constant presence of the property caretaker to affect her so much.
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul
Comments: 6
Kudos: 90





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> I adapted this story from a lovely manhwa called What Does the Fox Say by Team Gaji, specifically from a subplot featuring two supporting characters that was just so fucking cute I couldn’t resist plugging Yvesoul into the situation. While the general storyline and some of the dialogue is the same, I took liberties with a lot of things such as the pacing, certain plot elements, characters (obviously!) and other dialogue. Basically, if it was funny, that was me. Hope you enjoy.
> 
> title from a song of the same name by Bring Me The Horizon

I

Jinsol isn’t bitter. 

_You keep telling yourself that,_ her mind mocks her as she steps out of the town car, her chauffeur closing the door behind her and trailing behind with her suitcase as she walks up the front steps of the villa. The drive had been longer than she remembered, and being trapped in the backseat with no company but herself had taken a toll. The chauffeur leaves her suitcase by the door as she’s fishing for her keys and promptly retreats back to the car; she doesn’t bother turning around to see it start up again and speed out of the driveway. Ridiculous prick. If she hadn’t been in such a compromised position he’d have reason to fear for his life. 

Well, her position isn’t _compromised,_ exactly - she’s kept it together this long by telling herself things could be much worse, but it’s hard to deny that this is as close to exile as it gets. This place isn’t even a villa as she was told, she observes as she takes in the foyer and the grand staircase. It’s just an abandoned hotel. The cowards on her company’s exec board couldn’t even lie to her face. Assholes. 

Jinsol sighs heavily through her nose as she abandons her suitcase to start exploring the hotel, trying to keep her thoughts at bay. However, as she passes room after empty room, her mind continues the buzzing that had occupied her over the past several weeks - the passing of her father, his deathbed decision to appoint her as the new CEO of his company and sole heir to his lifelong fortune, the assassination attempt by her jealous half-brother Seohyun not a week after the funeral - Jinsol reflexively touches her neck where the garrote had dug into her flesh. Of course, there was no solid evidence that that pig Seohyun had been the one behind the attempt, but even if there was no one cared enough to listen to a girl like Jinsol anyway, even if she _was_ the CEO. A few emergency round-table meetings later, and here she is - effectively banished to some backwater rural province, presumably for her own safety, but Jinsol knows better. 

No one wants her around. 

Jinsol shakes her head quickly to banish the disruptive memories, continuing her foray into the bowels of the hotel. She’s made her way up to the largest suite on the fourth floor, which, of course, is empty, save for the assortment of bland hotel furniture and a stack of cardboard boxes in the corner. Poking around in the contents of one, she finds a coil of stiff orange rope; weighing it in her hand, the thought flashes like mercury across her mind - _if I tie this around my neck, I may be able to -_

“That’s a lifesaver rope,” a voice cuts through her thought before it’s had time to fully incubate, making her turn quickly. Another person stands by the doorway - another woman, tall. Tanned. Her shoulder-length hair is dark and falls into her eyes, which are fixed on her carefully from across the room. When she speaks again, her voice is a little gentler. “Do you need it?” 

Come to think of it, there would be someone here in charge of the building maintenance. Jinsol drops the rope back into the box, feeling slightly off balance. Looks like she can’t even ride out her exile in perfect solitude. “Caretaker?” 

The woman inclines her head. “Yes, madam.” 

“Don’t -“ Jinsol feels irritation billow up inside her like smoke. “Don’t call me that.” 

“You’re the mistress of the villa.” The woman doesn’t seem fazed, but holds that same careful eye contact. “It’s up to you.” 

Jinsol narrows her eyes at her, but she seems earnest, so she starts walking around the suite, observing where potential furniture might go. She might take this room as her own, actually. 

“By the way, my name is Ha Sooyoung,” the woman says from her spot by the doorway. 

“All right,” Jinsol says absently, pulling back the curtains on the windows. The view offers nothing but acres of woods, with a strip of ocean beyond. The sun is not low enough for her to go to bed yet, which somehow feels illegal. “Caretaker?” 

“Ha is my last name, first name is -“ Sooyoung begins to explain, but Jinsol cuts her off. 

“Is this my room?” Rather a pointless question, really, but Jinsol wants to establish that she’s not here to form any human connections. 

Sooyoung drops eye contact for the first time. “Ah, yes. It’s the largest room in this building. I thought you would be arriving later in the evening, so I’m still cleaning up.” She walks past Jinsol and hefts a large box into the crook of her arm easily. “Please sit back on the first floor, I’ll finish very soon.” 

Jinsol suddenly feels a tiny prick of guilt for her cold demeanor, but she’s cranky and tired and doesn’t have the capacity to overthink, so she pulls the curtains closed and walks past Sooyoung out of the room. “Keep up the good work.” 

-

Jinsol sits in a lounge chair in the foyer, nursing a cup of lukewarm tea. A book of records sits closed on the table in front of her; she’d found a box of them while foraging in the kitchen, and despite her desire to achieve transcendental mental blankness, had scoured the entire thing. Apparently the building had once been a business hotel owned by her father’s - _her -_ company decades ago and had been abandoned after it was determined a waste of capital. And now here she is, a waste as well. 

“I’m done cleaning up,” Sooyoung says from behind her. This woman really has impeccable timing. Jinsol turns slightly to see her standing there, actually looking nervous this time. “I took your luggage to your room as well.” 

“I see.” Jinsol takes a sip of her tea and instantly regrets it. This shit tastes like tap water. “Thanks. Go do… whatever it is caretakers do.” 

“But…” Sooyoung shifts her weight to her other foot. “Should you check -“ 

“Why should I?” Jinsol puts her cup onto the table and looks pointedly at the other woman. “Do you work so carelessly that I have to check every single time?” 

“Ah, no!” Sooyoung waves her hands in front of her. The earnestness of the gesture catches Jinsol off guard, which in turn makes her irritation spike. 

“Leave,” Jinsol says, turning back to her book. 

In her peripheral vision, Jinsol sees Sooyoung’s hands drop, her face falling. She turns and walks away without a word. 

_I really can’t escape,_ Jinsol thinks, thumbing over the hard cover of the book but keeping it shut. _But there’s nowhere else to go…_

A shadow falls across her lap. “Do you want some tangerines?” 

Jinsol glances up to see Sooyoung standing over her with a bowl of fruit. “What? No, I’m fine.” 

Sooyoung looks crestfallen for a split second, then she roots around in her pocket and pulls out a handful of candy. “Chocolates, then?” 

“I don’t eat snacks,” Jinsol says, keeping her voice neutral. “Or that much, actually.” 

She catches the expression of infinite sadness that crosses Sooyoung’s countenance, then she’s left alone again. Jinsol sighs to herself. _Annoying._

“Do you like sweet potatoes?” The voice comes from directly behind her, making her jump. Sooyoung walks around her chair, holding a large bowl filled with the potatoes in question and looking far too proud of herself. 

Jinsol feels her resolve waver. “...Leave it here.” 

-

“How do you like your visit so far?” Sooyoung asks, putting down her chopsticks. The dinner is simple, but good; Sooyoung is a solid cook. 

“Not bad for an old building,” Jinsol says honestly. 

Sooyoung nods, reaching for her glass. “It was originally a hotel. Currently people from the cleaning company come once a month, it seems the owner really wants this place to be well kept.” 

Jinsol scowls down at her bowl. She can feel the other woman’s eyes on her, so she quickly smooths her expression out into something more neutral. 

“Is the food to your liking, madam?” Sooyoung says, far too gently. It makes Jinsol’s teeth clench. 

“Your memory isn’t very good, caretaker.” Jinsol looks up at her pointedly. 

“Oh.” Sooyoung rubs her thumb against the tablecloth. “I’m sorry. I haven’t thought of another title for you yet -“

“President,” Jinsol states, picking up her chopsticks. 

Sooyoung recovers quickly. “President.” She eyes Jinsol thoughtfully, as if Jinsol can’t see her. “All right. President.” 

“Then, caretaker -“

“You can call me Sooyoung, if you please.” 

_“Caretaker,”_ Jinsol repeats, firmly. She puts her chopsticks across her bowl. “I’ve eaten well. Thank you.” 

With that, she gets up, leaving Sooyoung alone at the dinner table.


	2. 2

II

For an abandoned building, the water pressure is pretty damn good, Jinsol observes as she gets out of the shower. Perks of having constant maintenance, she supposes. Wrapping a towel loosely around herself, she walks out to the main room where her luggage is, still mostly unpacked. Speaking of maintenance, where is that - 

“President,” a voice calls from the doorway as if summoned by her mind. Out of the corner of her eye, Jinsol sees Sooyoung enter the room then immediately pull a crisp 180°, stopping dead in her tracks. “Oh. I’m sorry.” 

_ A caretaker who doesn’t know how to knock first,  _ Jinsol thinks, but without a trace of malice. Holding the towel against her front, she observes the rigid slope of Sooyoung’s shoulders as she stands with her back turned; perhaps in an alternate plane of existence, she would find that endearing. 

Sooyoung clasps her hands behind her back. “Do you like the room?” 

“It’s fine,” Jinsol says, turning back to her suitcase and pulling out a nightdress. Dropping the towel, she puts it on. 

Sooyoung must sense the development, because she says, “You can put towels and bathrobes into the basket by the bathroom.” 

Jinsol tosses the towel into said basket, then starts rooting through her luggage for a comb. “It’s late, you can go back home now.” 

“Wel, about that,” Sooyoung says. “I’ve decided to stay here at the villa starting today. Please call me whenever you need.” 

“All right.” Jinsol is too tired to be annoyed. “Well, today's work is done anyway.” She forgoes her search and snaps the suitcase shut, lugging it towards her bedroom and walking past Sooyoung in the doorway. 

“Wait, President,” Sooyoung calls after her. “The heater in my room hasn’t been prepared. Is it okay if I sleep here only for tonight?” 

Jinsol pauses, not turning around. “There are many other rooms, caretaker.” 

“Facilities in all the other rooms were shut down,” Sooyoung says. 

Jinsol starts walking again. “Sorry, but I want to be alone.” 

She can’t see Sooyoung’s expression, but she knows she won’t get an argument. There’s a brief pause, then the sound of cloth rustling as Sooyoung bows. “Yes. Good night.” 

The door clicks shut, and Jinsol stands there until she can’t hear the sound of Sooyoung’s receding footsteps anymore. 

-

The timetable for the next few days is pleasantly numbing. 8 AM, breakfast with Sooyoung. Then, combing through her emails and keeping up correspondence with her exec team; she may be banished, but a figurehead is a figurehead. 12 PM, lunch with Sooyoung. More light work in the afternoon, maybe a brief period of time allotted to spiraling into the void, then teatime. 7 PM, dinner with Sooyoung. Retreat to her room and sleep whenever her brain decides to bluescreen. Then 8 AM… the cycle continues. 

Jinsol looks at the lone fried egg on her plate; she’d never been especially fond of eggs, which is why she’d avoided it until now, and Sooyoung seems to notice. 

“I’ll clean up now, President,” the caretaker says, reaching for her plate and placing it atop the stack of others already balanced in her other hand. Jinsol idly observes the definition of her bicep under her sleeve as she carries the plates; does she exercise? Not that it matters. 

Back up in her room, Jinsol pulls down the collar of her turtleneck. The welts from the garrote are still healing, and moving her neck too much is painful. Her limited range of movement seems to have impacted the rest of her body as well; the muscles in her back are tighter than usual. Trying to stretch leaves her winking tears out of her eyes at the pain, so she moves over to the window and opens the curtains to see an empty swimming pool down below. Squinting against the sun, Jinsol spots a lone figure in the far end of the pool, broom in hand. Well, the conversation might be awkward but fresh air would do her good. 

Sooyoung doesn’t seem to notice Jinsol when she sits on the top steps of the pool, not missing her rhythm as she sweeps the surface of the bottom of the pool. She’s barefoot and the cuffs of her jeans are rolled up high on her legs, baring the leanness of her calves; maybe she really is tanned all over. Jinsol scrunches her face at the sudden thought and quickly blurts out the first question on her mind. “Is your heater working now?” 

Sooyoung doesn’t stop sweeping, but she does glance over at Jinsol. Maybe she  _ had  _ noticed her earlier. “Oh, yes. It’s all good now.” 

“Is it still cold?” Jinsol isn’t sure why she’s pushing the conversation, but she’s bored, and what harm could it do? 

“No, now that March is over, the weather is getting warmer,” Sooyoung says. She starts sweeping the smaller piles of leaves and debris into one large pile. 

Jinsol knows that won’t be true for another several weeks at least, so she feels a little bad. “Isn’t it still very cold at night?” 

Sooyoung stops sweeping and straightens up, looking over at her. “I… made an inappropriate request that time. I should’ve known you would be uncomfortable if I was there. I’ll try to be more self-aware -“ 

“No, no.” Jinsol draws her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. “I shouldn't have been rude. I didn’t mean it.” 

“Ah,” Sooyoung says. She resumes sweeping, but a little slower. When she speaks again, it’s slower as well. “You must have been misunderstood a lot then, right?” 

Even if Sooyoung had meant that as a dig, Jinsol lets it slide. “Well, what do you think it looks like?” 

“I… “ Sooyoung’s looking at her again. Her broom has stilled. “I don’t know. I’m not… “

“Why so serious?” Jinsol smiles for the first time since she set foot on the property. “You can say what you want.” 

Sooyoung drops her gaze awkwardly, tapping her broom against the ground. Jinsol takes pity on her. 

“It’s just… a problem on my part.” The explanation shouldn’t sound so much like an apology, but Jinsol probably owes one for her shitty behavior. “I don’t like anyone coming near me. It’s not personal or because you’re the caretaker.” 

“Is it like germophobia?” Sooyoung tilts her head. 

Jinsol pushes her hair out of her face. “It’s more like a preference.” 

“A preference…” The broom starts moving again, and Sooyoung starts to move away towards the far end of the pool. 

“I heard the cleaning company comes periodically,” Jinsol says. “Shouldn’t they be the ones to clean the pool as well?” 

“Well, yes,” the caretaker admits. Her hair falls into her eyes as she drags the broom in a circle. “But I requested them to leave some parts of the property to me. I like cleaning.”

Jinsol remembers reading that doing menial work can be therapeutic. What is it that Sooyoung would need that for? Wait, she shouldn’t care enough to wonder about these kinds of things. Getting up quickly and turning to head back inside, she says, “Keep up the good work.” 

The blank walls of the hotel crowd into her as she walks through the halls to her room. Her steps slow as her cruel mind replays the conversation, the edges of her vision blurring. The wounds on her throat throb.  _ A preference…  _


	3. 3

III

Managing to achieve a semi-catatonic state before noon should be some kind of personal record, Jinsol absently thinks to herself, but she can’t bring herself to go write it down. That would defeat the purpose. Her mind vehemently swirls with a wellspring of festering memories that she doesn’t have the strength to fend off, so she sits limp on the couch with her head carefully tilted back and lets them wash over her. 

She hadn’t always had a  _ preference  _ for solitude, as she had told Sooyoung. Well, not when it came to one specific person - she remembers sharp, owl-like eyes, a head of thick blonde hair, a red ribbon. Jungeun’s fiery personality and Jinsol’s low tolerance for bullshit meant they fought constantly, and Jungeun had loved nothing more than to get under her skin, but Jinsol wouldn’t have had it any other way. She should have known that if you fly too close to the sun, you’ll get burned, but Jungeun’s sun had been too intoxicating. She remembers, in one of their rare moments of calm, Jungeun’s head would come to rest on her shoulder as she sat at her desk. The younger woman would whine at her to quit working and give her attention, and Jinsol always took great pleasure in ignoring her, which meant eventually Jungeun would fall asleep just like that with her head on her shoulder. During those moments, Jinsol couldn’t be happier. 

“Jungeun-ah…”

Jinsol cracks one eye open, the name escaping her lips involuntarily, as she feels her head coming to rest against something softer than the back of the couch. In a disorienting flash, she sees Jungeun smiling down at her, her blonde hair pulled into a half-ponytail with her signature red ribbon. 

_ I never thought of how to live without you.  _

Jinsol squeezes her eyes shut and when she opens them again, blonde hair and pale skin has been replaced by short, dark locks and a healthy tan. The caretaker looks decidedly calm with Jinsol’s head tucked in the junction between her neck and shoulder, but her hands are twisted together in her lap. 

Jinsol shifts slightly to look up at her. “What are you doing?” 

“I kept calling you to lunch, but there was no answer,” Sooyoung says, not looking at her. “So I came in here to check.” 

“Ah.” Jinsol tries to feel annoyed, but it’s not working. She focuses instead on carefully removing her head from Sooyoung’s shoulder, straightening out her neck slowly. 

“You were sleeping and looked very uncomfortable so -“ Sooyoung starts to explain. 

“You just went into someone else’s room without consent,” Jinsol interrupts, her tone like slate. She feels infinitely drained, too much to care that Sooyoung had probably seen the welts on her neck. 

“Then,” Sooyoung untwists her hands and flattens them on her knees, “should I reinstall the door lock if necessary?” 

“Wouldn’t you have a spare key for that anyway?” Jinsol rubs the pads of her fingers against her eyelids. “What’s the point if there’s only the two of us here?” 

Sooyoung’s hands twitch on her knees. “I’m sorry. I was just worried.” 

“I know,” Jinsol tells her, trying to be gentle. “It’s just that I’m not really used to it.” 

She can feel Sooyoung’s eyes on her as she gets to her feet. As she walks to her bathroom, the caretaker calls after her, “Are you feeling well, at least? You haven’t been eating properly for the past few days.” 

_ Why would she notice?  _ “I can deal with it myself, don’t mind it too much.” 

“But President, you look tired -“

“Forget it,” Jinsol says, stopping in the doorway of the bathroom. She turns to see Sooyoung still sitting on the couch, watching her. “Go see if you can find some red wine.” 

-

This might be a backwater rural province, Jinsol thinks, but that guarantees a fucking awesome sunset. Sitting on the lawn chair under the awning near the pool, she swirls the wine in her glass lightly and tries to focus on the igneous palette in the sky and not on the other woman sitting across from her. It doesn’t help that the dying light makes Sooyoung’s skin glow like some kind of semi-precious metal, or that she likes to stare. 

“Why did President come here?” 

Jinsol rolls the stem of her wine glass between her fingers. “Because I can't stay in the city.”

“Taking a rest,” Sooyoung nods. “When will you go back?” 

“I don’t know yet.” If Sooyoung wants to talk, Jinsol would rather it not be about her. “How long have you been here?” 

The caretaker hums, tapping her fingers on her knee. “Around three years.” 

“That’s a long time.” 

“I was born here, then moved to the city for school.” 

Jinsol takes a sip. “So how did you come back?” 

“I ran away.” 

Jinsol looks at her sharply over the rim of her glass, but Sooyoung’s expression is neutral. She reaches for the bottle. “Have a drink as well, caretaker.” 

“No, I don’t drink,” Sooyoung says. Jinsol arches an eyebrow. “That is, I haven’t learned how to drink yet.” 

“Oh?” Jinsol pours herself another glass. The wine tastes like diluted battery acid, but the alcohol is making her feel more relaxed than she’s ever felt in the past month. “I guess I’ll have to do it for you. What are some unique things about living out here, then?” 

Sooyoung looks a little caught off guard. “Uh, the sea is stunning… the wind is nice… the mountains… “

“Isn’t there anything else?” Jinsol asks. “You lived here for a long time.” 

“Yes, that’s why nothing’s special here to me,” Sooyoung says. “It’s hard to appreciate what you have while you still have it, I know. Things get better when you have to reminisce.” She fidgets with her sleeve. “Whether it’s nature, or people. This hotel as well.” 

“Then what should I do with the hotel?” Jinsol tilts her head. “Should I sell it?” 

Sooyoung gives her an exaggerated frown. “If you wanted to fire me you could just say that.” 

Jinsol’s laugh surprises the both of them, and Sooyoung visibly relaxes. Jinsol looks away to observe the empty pool, perfectly clean. “Can you swim?” 

Sooyoung follows her line of sight. “Yes, President.” 

“I want to see you swim.” 

The barely concealed surprise on the caretaker’s face is almost worth the confession. “... Want to see me swim?” 

“Because I can’t,” Jinsol confides, taking another sip. “Swim, that is. It’s interesting to watch, because there are very few things I can’t do.” 

Sooyoung merely looks at her for a moment, and Jinsol suspects she’s trying to gauge if she’s drunk or not. Well, Jinsol hasn’t drank this much in a long time, but she can still hold her liquor. Maybe she should prove it by walking to her room on the fourth floor. “I’m going inside.” 

The caretaker is on her feet and by her chair in what seems like a split second. “President -“ 

Jinsol waves her away while getting up, and executing the two consecutive motions is too much for her motor control because she loses her balance and would have face planted if Sooyoung hadn’t caught her. In one smooth motion, Jinsol finds herself securely cradled in Sooyoung’s arms, her face dangerously close to the column of her neck. She can feel each one of Sooyoung’s fingers pressing against her skin. 

“I’ll carry you to your room,” the caretaker says. Her tone leaves no room for argument. 

Maybe Jinsol is fucking drunk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jinsol is me after one (1) shot of 4loko


	4. 4

IV

_ This young caretaker _ , Jinsol’s mind lazily reels as she’s carried through the building.  _ What is it I want to do with her?  _

She feels herself being laid on her bed, Sooyoung’s figure bent over her.  _ I keep having this feeling that I shouldn’t be doing this. But what is it that I shouldn’t be doing? Fuck, I’m plastered.  _

Sooyoung is still hovering over her, one hand planted next to her body on the mattress, the other still under her head. “President? Would you like to go to sleep now?” 

_ Or?  _ Jinsol’s mind suggests. She echoes it out loud. “Or?” 

Sooyoung blinks. Jinsol feels her hand gently slip out from under her head. “Or should I bring you a glass of water?” 

Jinsol turns her head away. “I don’t need anything. You can go now.” 

The mattress springs back as Sooyoung straightens to leave. A moment later, she feels a blanket covering her, pulled up to her chin. The door shuts. 

Jinsol sleeps. 

-

So, she wasn’t drunk enough to warrant too severe a hangover, and after taking some painkillers Jinsol feels restless. Sitting in front of a mirror, she’s spent the last ten minutes trying to force an earring through a piercing hole she knows has probably closed up, but there’s no harm in trying even if it hurts like a bitch. 

The earring slips and falls to the floor. “Son of a -“

A tanned hand reaches the earring before she does, and Sooyoung straightens from her crouch before offering it back to her. “Do you need help?” 

“No, it’s all right,” Jinsol says, taking the earring and turning back to the mirror. 

Sooyoung watches her attempt to stab through her ear with the blunt tip before asking, “Did you sleep well?” 

“I think so.” Jinsol adjusts her grip on the earring before going at it again. 

“Are you feeling fine?” 

“Yes.” 

“Are you thirsty?” 

“No -“ Jinsol turns in her seat to look at her. “Did I get  _ that _ drunk to have you this worried?” 

Sooyoung shifts her weight to her other foot. “It’s just… I was wondering if you need anything.” 

Jinsol pinches the earring between her fingertips. “Bring me a bottle of antiseptic then.”

Her ear now pleasantly cold from the antiseptic, Jinsol aims the post of the earring and swiftly stabs it through the cartilage. The tiny crunching sound and burst of pain is familiar. Sooyoung grimaces, then quickly picks up the earring back and moves to her side. “Let me do it for you.” 

Jinsol watches in the mirror as Sooyoung hunches over the side of her head, eyes narrowed in concentration. Her hands are steady as she holds Jinsol’s black hair out of the way and slides the back on. Sooyoung picks up the cotton ball soaked in antiseptic lying on the table and presses it gently against the tiny rivulet of blood that’s started to form. 

“Wow.” Sooyoung’s voice is hushed. Her thumb smooths Jinsol’s hair behind her ear. “It’s beautiful.” 

Jinsol shifts in her seat, and Sooyoung immediately backs away, her hands going back to her sides. “Do you pierce your ears often?” 

“I used to,” Jinsol says. “People usually ask if I am under a lot of stress.” 

“It seems too painful to relieve stress.” Sooyoung wrinkles her nose. 

“Some people use pain to let off steam.” 

The caretaker snorts. “Couldn’t be me.” 

“It heals.” Jinsol reaches for her jewelry box. “Do you have any?” 

“Piercings?” Sooyoung lifts her hair away from her neck to show her earlobes. “Only a couple. To be honest, I always wanted to get more but I’ve been too busy.” 

Jinsol’s hand stills on her jewelry box. “Do you want to try it then?” 

-

“I feel like we should sign an NDA first, or something,” Sooyoung says rapidly. “Does insurance typically cover piercing-related freak accidents?” 

They’ve switched positions, Sooyoung in the seat in front of the mirror and Jinsol standing behind her brandishing a needle. Jinsol holds back a laugh. “I didn’t know you could speak so fast.” 

Sooyoung glares at her in the mirror, but quickly schools her expression when Jinsol swabs the shell of her ear with antiseptic. “How much will it hurt?” 

“Certainly more than the ones on your earlobes,” Jinsol says, lightly running her thumb over the rim of Sooyoung’s ear. Sooyoung shivers and Jinsol pulls her hand away. “Don’t worry, it only lasts for a split second and the first time is always the worst. On three, breathe out.” 

Jinsol positions the needle as Sooyoung draws in a breath, her eyes closed. 

“One.”

“Two.” 

“Three.” Jinsol slides the needle through the cartilage of Sooyoung’s ear; the other woman’s jaw clenches minutely, her eyelashes fluttering. Jinsol slips a small stud earring through the hole and fastens the back, then looks up at the mirror to find Sooyoung already looking at her. Jinsol glances back down. 

“I’ll check it regularly to make sure it’s healing,” Jinsol says, picking up her jewelry box and walking away. 

-

It becomes a ritual - whenever Jinsol passes her in the hall, or when she’s on the porch talking on the phone and Sooyoung walks past with the broom, or when she’s sitting on the couch and she hears footsteps behind her, she beckons with her hand and Sooyoung obediently walks in front of her to incline her head, pulling her hair out of the way. The piercing is healing perfectly, and the regular check-ups probably are overkill, but Jinsol can’t get over the feeling of finally caring for someone else, even with something so small. 

“Does it hurt anymore?” Jinsol asks one evening. She’s sitting on the couch with a glass of water, and Sooyoung’s on one knee in front of her with her hair tucked behind her ear. 

“No, it’s almost completely healed,” Sooyoung says, settling into a more comfortable half-crouch. “All thanks to President’s good care.” 

Jinsol snorts. She’s almost forgotten about her title. “No big deal. Let me know if you want to pierce the other one.” 

“Well,” Sooyoung says, getting to her feet, “I have thought of something. A way to repay you.” 

Jinsol puts down her glass and looks up at Sooyoung.  _ Repay me?  _


	5. 5

V

Jinsol shuts her laptop. It’s still morning and she’s already burnt out from the tone-deaf emails she’s been forwarded by her team. She stands, stretching slightly, and looks at her neck in the mirror; the marks are fading, but the muscles are still stiff. 

“President!” The voice comes from a distance. Jinsol pulls her shirt collar back up and looks around. Did that come from outside?

Making her way to the yard, she sees that the pool has been filled. The water laps at the sides of the pool gently, reflecting the sun. 

“You wanted to see me swim,” Sooyoung’s voice says beside her. 

“Yes, I did say that,” Jinsol replies, crossing her arms, “but isn’t it too soon to get in the water?” 

Sooyoung walks around in front of her, and Jinsol’s brain suddenly feels as if it’s been dropped into a vacuum. The caretaker is wearing a pair of board shorts and a black sports bra, and it seems Jinsol’s hunch from all those days ago was correct: she is tanned all over, the muscles in her shoulders and stomach standing out as she stretches. 

“You mean the weather, or my ear?” Sooyoung asks. 

Jinsol takes a moment too long to answer that. “Both.” 

“Both are fine,” Sooyoung grins, showing her the water-resistant tape she’d put over her piercing. Jinsol resists the urge to smile back. 

“I guess cleaning this useless pool finally paid off,” Jinsol says, watching as Sooyoung walks to the far end of the pool. 

“Well, I couldn’t fill the pool when President wasn’t here,” Sooyoung replies, getting onto the diving board and springing on it a little. “Even then, it’s been a while since I last swam.” 

Without further elaboration, Sooyoung dives in headfirst; Jinsol watches her cut through the surface of the water with a freestyle stroke, barely splashing. She reaches the other side and comes up for air, flipping her wet hair out of her face. They look at each other from across the water. 

“You look like an athlete,” Jinsol muses. 

“I used to be a professional swimmer,” Sooyoung tells her, wading a little deeper. 

“Really?” Jinsol regards her figure moving through the water. “Now just a caretaker of a closed hotel?” 

Sooyoung stops wading, the water lapping at her collarbones. “I didn’t fit in as an athlete.” 

_ No wonder,  _ Jinsol thinks as Sooyoung ducks underwater again.  _ Makes sense she was some kind of athlete, with her strength.  _

When Sooyoung comes up at the other side of the pool, Jinsol’s sitting there on the diving board. “I don’t know much about swimming, but it fits you. Especially because of your name, you know.” 

“That’s exactly why I stopped. Couldn’t handle the puns,” Sooyoung tells her solemnly. Jinsol squints at her. 

Sooyoung crosses her arms on the ground above the edge of the pool. “The problem was, I’m not competitive.” 

“Then why become an athlete?” 

“I have the talent for it. I set a lot of records in my school when I competed, and I never missed a medal in any of the competitions. But on the national scale, my record was… ehm.” Sooyoung scoops up some water in her palm to trickle through her fingers. “To quote the committee… was  _ vague.” _

“Is that why you ran away?” Jinsol asks. 

“No.” Sooyoung pulls her arms back underwater and starts to submerge again. 

“You know,” Jinsol says, “talking like that just makes me want to interrogate you more.” 

“Is that so?” Sooyoung glances up at her before turning around. She stretches her arms in front of her under the water. “By the way, my specialty is butterfly stroke.” 

Jinsol watches the sun glint through the sprays of water Sooyoung sends up with each stroke. _Does she not want to talk about it?_ Sooyoung reaches the other side and starts making her way back. _Or_ _she simply won’t tell me at first?_

As Sooyoung gets closer, Jinsol sees her unorthodox stroke and laughs aloud. “Doggy paddle?” 

Sooyoung stops in front of her, looking pleased. “Are you afraid of water?” 

“No.” 

“Would you like to dip your feet in here?” 

“ … Sure.” 

Reaching up, Sooyoung wraps one hand around Jinsol’s ankle while the other hand slides her shoe off. She does the same for the other foot, and moves back as Jinsol gingerly lowers her toes into the water. It’s warmer than she expected. 

“It’s nice,” Jinsol says, mostly for Sooyoung’s benefit. At that, the caretaker gives her a blinding smile and swiftly turns to plunge into another lap across the pool. 

Jinsol watches her shadow on the surface of the water.  _ It’s been too long since I received such innocent kindness. That’s why I feel… like this.  _

_ Too long…  _

Jinsol slips from her perch into the water and sinks like a stone. She shuts her eyes. The water muffles all sound, and she lets her hands float limply. The water is colder the deeper she sinks. She lies prone on the bottom of the pool, feeling her hair being pulled gently by the water. The biological processes in her body steadily eat away at the limited oxygen from her lungs, and the lack of air starts to pressurize the insides of her skull. 

Suddenly she feels a wild current buffeting the water above her; strong hands yank her frame upward and haul her out of the pool, laying her on the ground. Jinsol keeps her eyes shut, listening to Sooyoung’s choked pants as her wet hair is pushed out of her face. 

“President!” Fingers push her chin up as water drips onto her face, presumably from Sooyoung crouching over her. “President!” 

Jinsol is about to say,  _ Sike I got your ass,  _ but then warm lips press against her own and she goes rigid. Jinsol has suspected that Sooyoung is attracted to her on some level, but not enough to actually - 

Fingers pinch her nose shut and Sooyoung forcefully blows air into her mouth. Wait, this is first aid. Sooyoung pulls away, panting, her thumb pressed against Jinsol’s lower lip. 

“She’s breathing,” Sooyoung mutters to herself, moving away. “Ambulance… I have to call -“ 

Jinsol cracks her eyes open and grabs Sooyoung’s arm. The other woman stops dead, her wild gaze swinging towards Jinsol’s face like a punch. 

“I was just messing with you,” Jinsol says. 

All of the coiled muscles in Sooyoung’s frame relax visibly, and she kneels next to Jinsol on the ground. There are tears in her eyes as she looks at Jinsol’s hand around her arm. “Don’t ever joke about that.” 

-

Sooyoung is standing outside the bathroom as Jinsol comes out in a bathrobe. The caretaker is still in her swim gear and won’t make eye contact. 

“Caretaker,” Jinsol says gently. 

Sooyoung startles. “Ah, yes. Are you feeling okay?” 

Jinsol feels something flinty in her chest soften at Sooyoung’s worry. “Yes, I’m fine. I told you I fell in on purpose.” 

“Okay,” Sooyoung says, not looking convinced. 

Jinsol remembers the tears in Sooyoung’s eyes.  _ Why would she cry?  _ “You can wash up in here if you want.” 

“Oh no, I don’t have any clothes to change into anyway,” Sooyoung waves her hands with a weak smile. “I’ll just go to my room.” 

“Why are you still standing here then?” 

“Ah, it’s…”

“Do you have something to say?” 

Sooyoung hesitates, her throat bobbing with a swallow. Jinsol watches her hands twist in front of her. 

“Would you like me to…” Sooyoung’s eyes find hers, uncharacteristically dark. “Would you like me to sleep with you tonight?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> horny jail!!!!!


	6. 6

VI

_ A surprise to be sure but a welcome one,  _ Jinsol thinks sardonically to herself as she combs out her hair.  _ Well… or is it? _

Jinsol recalls Sooyoung’s stature, her athlete’s stamina. The way she had picked her up and carried her up to her room on the fourth floor so easily that one night. Her hands, with their slim fingers. Jinsol touches the fading bruises on her neck and winces.  _ She’d better be experienced.  _

Walking to her wardrobe, Jinsol pulls out a robe and puts it on over her nightdress.  _ Well, whether I’m really interested in her or if it’s just a physical thing, it’s too late now.  _

“President?” The voice comes from just outside her closed door. “May I come in?” 

Nerves crawl up the column of Jinsol’s throat and she wants to smack herself. Has it really been that long since she got any? “Come in.” 

-

“So,” Jinsol mutters, staring up into the darkness of the ceiling. “Was asking to sleep on the floor next to my bed something so difficult for you to say?” 

Jinsol can’t see her, but she can hear the sheets rustle as Sooyoung moves around on the floor. “... Yes?” 

“Never mind.” Jinsol closes her eyes. 

There’s a stretch of silence, then Sooyoung speaks again. “You were uncomfortable when I asked if I could sleep in this room last time, so I figured it would be rude to ask again. In fact, I didn’t expect you’d let me -“

Jinsol rolls onto her side to look over the edge of the bed at the other woman, who’s lying on her back on the floor with the sheet wrapped around her body several times like a cocoon. “So, why are you lying on the floor despite the possibility of being rude?” 

The room is too dark to properly see her face, but Jinsol can sense Sooyoung’s eyes on her. “Well,” Sooyoung says slowly, “it seems as if you’ve been having trouble sleeping. I thought it’d be better if there was someone next to you… “

“How would you know that?” 

“I saw your pill bottle. The sleeping pills.” 

“On the night I had wine?” 

“Yes.” 

Jinsol lays there, quiet. She hadn’t expected Sooyoung to be so observant. It’s an alien feeling, being looked after. 

“If you want,” Sooyoung says, “I can go back to my room.” 

Jinsol rolls back over to face the other side of the room. “Just stay here.” 

To her merit, Sooyoung stays perfectly quiet as time passes, not even rustling her blankets. Jinsol suddenly has the mental picture of her not actually being able to move in her blanket burrito and feels an irrational urge to giggle. Along with her body being sculpted by the gods, Sooyoung seems like an earnest person with an oddly innocent demeanor. Which reminds her… 

“Caretaker,” Jinsol says. 

“Yes?” The reply comes immediately. 

Jinsol draws her knees up to her chest under her blanket. Remembering how the water pressed in on her makes her feel cold. “I’m sorry about the joke I pulled earlier. I didn’t know that you would be so scared.” 

There’s a brief pause. “Was that really a joke?” Sooyoung asks. “Even if it wasn’t, whenever President is in danger I will be there to save you.” 

_ Jesus Christ,  _ Jinsol thinks, feeling flustered. She curls further into the fetal position.  _ Isn’t she curious about why I would pull a joke like that?  _

“Are…” There’s the sound of Sooyoung trying to loosen her cocoon. “Are you cold? Should I turn up the heat?” 

“It would be better if you just came up here,” Jinsol mutters. 

The bumping around on the floor stops. “What?” 

Jinsol rolls over to peer over the side of the bed at Sooyoung, who’s hopelessly tangled in her blanket. “Get up here.” 

-

“Understand? You have to do at least this much to say that you’re sleeping with someone,” Jinsol says, pulling her hair over her shoulder. 

“Let me go write that down,” Sooyoung deadpans, shifting around behind her, to which Jinsol tips her chin up, knocking the back of her head against Sooyoung’s jaw. The resulting crack sound from Sooyoung’s teeth knocking together is impressive and the caretaker’s arms tighten around her in retaliation, making Jinsol squirm. 

Sooyoung smells faintly of apples and, to Jinsol’s delight, radiates heat, especially since she’s wearing loose pants and a reverse-knit sweatshirt. Her clothed legs are tangled with Jinsol’s bare ones under the blanket, and her arms are wrapped around her waist and her front pressed against Jinsol’s back, surrounding her with a bubble of warmth. Jinsol might actually fall asleep tonight. 

Sooyoung’s voice is low enough to register as a rumble that Jinsol feels against her back. “I feel so bad that you can’t sleep well.” 

“It’s not your business,” Jinsol murmurs. “Or your fault.” 

As she drifts off, she vaguely feels the blanket being wrapped more tightly around the both of them, then Sooyoung says very softly, “I hope you know I’m not being nosy. I’m sorry.” 

-

The sun streams through the gaps in the curtains, somehow managing to shine directly onto Jinsol’s eyelids. She feels extremely warm. Disoriented, she squeezes her eyes into a squint and tries to free her arms to stretch, but something’s holding them down firmly. Jinsol carefully cranes her neck around to see Sooyoung with her head lolled back on the pillow, comatose. Her arms loosen as Jinsol maneuvers herself to turn around fully to face the other woman, entranced by the way the sun lights up her complexion and casts shadows of her eyelashes onto her cheeks. Sooyoung’s lips are slightly parted as she breathes deeply and Jinsol spots a small mole on her cheekbone. Cute. 

Jinsol groans as she flexes her back, trying to get the joints to crack. At the movement, Sooyoung mumbles something in her sleep and suddenly wraps her arms back around Jinsol, her hand cupping the back of Jinsol’s head and pulling it into her collarbone. Surprised, Jinsol flails as she’s crushed in the embrace, swimmer’s arms encircling her as Sooyoung breathes contentedly and rests her cheek against the top of Jinsol’s head. 

_ “Caretaker,”  _ Jinsol says sharply, pushing her hands against Sooyoung’s stomach. 

Sooyoung’s eyes open and immediately her arms spring apart, scooting back so far she almost falls off the bed. They both scramble into sitting positions, Jinsol wincing at the pain in her back and Sooyoung twisting her hands in her lap. 

“I’m so sorry,” Sooyoung says, her voice slightly rough. “I didn’t know -“

“It’s okay,” Jinsol says. She swings her legs over the edge of the bed, pressing a hand against the small of her back where the pain seems to have localized. 

“Did you sleep wrong?” Sooyoung is, of course, watching her. 

“No, it’s not that,” Jinsol sighs. “It’s just a little tight. Maybe because I fell in the - I mean, because it’s been a while since I’ve worked out.” 

Sooyoung seems relieved that Jinsol isn’t annoyed. “You used to exercise?” 

“Yes, but not for a profession like you. Just for health.” 

The mattress moves as Sooyoung gets up. “I can help you if you want to work out again.” 

Jinsol adjusts the strap of her nightdress. “I think I know how to work out without the caretaker’s help.” 

“No,” Sooyoung says, walking around the bed to stand in front of Jinsol with the blankets in her arms. “I didn’t mean I would be teaching you anything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the star wars quote i couldn't help myself


	7. 7

VII

If Jinsol professes to know anything about compromising positions, this would be high on the list. She’s lying flat on her stomach on a blanket spread on the floor, the straps of her nightdress pulled down to expose the top of her back, her head cradled in her forearms. Sooyoung kneels somewhere to her side and positions her hands on either side of her spine, pressing with the heels of her hands. Jinsol feels the muscles slowly loosen as Sooyoung makes her way down her back, exhaling shortly each time her hands press down. 

“With your muscles so stiff and tight, it’ll be hard for daily life, not to mention working out,” Sooyoung says, working her knuckles into a knot on Jinsol’s shoulder blade. 

“You seem to be able to do a lot of things,” Jinsol mumbles. 

Sooyoung snorts. “But the only thing I’m good at is cleaning, apparently.” 

_ Does she really think that way about herself?  _ Jinsol thinks. 

“I just want to do my best so you’d see more in me,” Sooyoung says. Her hands shove downwards particularly hard, and an entire section of Jinsol’s lumbar vertebrae pops into place. “Please, try to relax.” 

The caretaker’s hands are warm, and it’s actually pleasant, when it’s not painful. Jinsol knows it’s not Sooyoung’s fault it hurts and that it’s her fucked up back, but Sooyoung seems to have noticed and, in turn, to be handling her extremely carefully. 

“Do you get massages often?” the caretaker asks. 

“No.” 

“You know, there’s other ways to relax your muscles that aren’t so…”

“It’s all right. Keep going.” 

Sooyoung gently moves her hair lying on the top of her back before digging the heels of her hands into the muscle there. “I can do it more often if you like.” 

Jinsol hums, and Sooyoung continues. “It also helps ease your mind, I think. Maybe you’d even be able to sleep more comfortably.” 

“Massages are common,” Jinsol says once Sooyoung lets up a little. “But you really are strong.” 

Sooyoung’s hands pause on her back. “Does it hurt?” 

“It’s fine.” Jinsol clenches her jaw when her spine is forced into place one more time. “It’s fine but… I’m not comfortable in this position.” She turns her head to the side to look at Sooyoung, who’s sitting back on her haunches. “Is it alright if I turn around?” 

Watching the realization dawn in Sooyoung’s face is like watching the moon emerge from behind a dense cloud. “Ah. Yes, whatever’s most comfortable for President.” She swiftly turns away. 

Rolling over onto her back, Jinsol doesn’t understand why Sooyoung won’t look at her until the caretaker says pointedly, “President, you can put your clothes on now.” 

Oh. Her nightdress isn’t really doing its job. Jinsol seizes the opportunity to be insufferable. “What, didn’t you see this while trying to do CPR?”

Sooyoung’s jaw flexes, and she plucks a blanket off the bed and drops it over Jinsol’s body. “I didn’t see anything.” 

-

Jinsol pulls the sleeves of her jacket over her hands as she walks down the front steps of the hotel. Sooyoung and the chauffeur are talking together in the driveway as they unload several suitcases from the trunk of the chauffeur‘s black SUV. 

“My luggage is here?” Jinsol asks as she comes up behind them. 

The chauffeur bows and backs away as Sooyoung lifts two of the suitcases, one in each hand. “Yes, would you like me to take them all to your room?” 

“Sure, I'll organize them later,” Jinsol says, watching the chauffeur tap something into his smart watch. 

“By the way,” Sooyoung says, “I need to go out for a little while this afternoon. We’re almost out of food.” 

The chauffeur looks up from his watch and nods to Jinsol, who turns to the caretaker. “Let’s go together.” 

Sooyoung pauses, looking up at her on the steps. “Well, I can’t drive so I need to take a taxi or the bus -“

The sound of an engine revving and tires squealing at the far end of the driveway cuts Sooyoung off. Jinsol crosses her arms with a grin as a deep blue Porsche pulls up next to the SUV. 

“Here’s the transportation you requested, ma’am,” the chauffeur says. 

Jinsol glances at Sooyoung, who’s staring slack-jawed at the car. “I want to get some fresh air.” 

-

Sooyoung maneuvers the absolutely loaded shopping cart through the aisle as Jinsol trails behind her, avoiding people with practiced ease. Jinsol eyes the contents of the cart as Sooyoung adds four gallons of milk. 

“How quickly do you think we’ll get through all this?” Jinsol asks. “Milk expires pretty quickly…” 

“This is good for three days,” Sooyoung says, heading for the checkout. “Unfortunately, I can’t buy more because of the short expiration dates.” 

Jinsol raises an eyebrow.  _ How the hell is she going through four gallons of milk in three days? Oh wait, athlete. Right. She could probably rawdog an entire gallon in one go if so inclined.  _

“Sooyoungie!” The call comes from the checkout station next to them; they both turn to see a short redheaded woman with bangs and a gigantic down coat waving both arms at them. Sooyoung waves back, smiling. 

“Good to see you, Jiwoo,” the caretaker says while starting to scan their items. 

“You look fantastic as always!” the other woman chirps, lifting two gigantic cantaloupes, one in each hand, into her cart, then takes a running start and hops onto the cart as it heads out of the exit. Jinsol glances at Sooyoung to see her smiling to herself as she continues to scan.  _ Of course, it’s not like she’s a stranger here. This is her home.  _

“President,” Sooyoung says, tucking the receipt into her shirt pocket. Jinsol startles. “Since we’re already in town, would you like to go eat somewhere?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chuu the love of my life


	8. 8

VIII

The pub is small and decently populated for the time of day, but Jinsol and Sooyoung find a quiet spot in the corner of the bar. Sooyoung orders an appalling assortment of carbohydrates along with the meal and wastes no time digging in; both Jinsol and the bartender watch her with a kind of morbid fascination. 

“You know, it’s unusual for people at the bar to not order drinks,” the bartender says. Jinsol looks over at her; she’s pretty, sharp bob haircut and sharper eyes. A tattoo of some kind of bird peeks out above her shirt collar on the side of her neck.

“You say that every time I come here, Haseul,” Sooyoung grumbles around a mouthful of fries. “I was an athlete, remember?” 

“This bitch ingests chlorine regularly for half her life and now won’t shut up about it,” Haseul says, directing a smile at Jinsol. “By the way, Sooyoung, this is the first time you’ve actually brought a girl here. What’s the occasion?” 

Sooyoung stabs a piece of meat with her fork. “Could you just treat me like a regular customer?” 

“I  _ am,  _ because I know everybody within a five mile radius,” Haseul says smugly. “Come on, who’s your friend? I’ll keep my hands to myself.” 

Jinsol looks down at her plate when Sooyoung glances over at her. The caretaker sighs and glares at Haseul. “She’s my boss.” 

Instead of being taken aback or having some other normal reaction, Haseul merely puts down the tumbler she’s drying and tilts her head. “You’re working again?” 

Jinsol eyes Sooyoung’s side profile curiously, but the caretaker’s face is unreadable. “Jinsol, if you make the executive decision to fire me, it was Haseul’s fault.” 

“I’d be hard pressed to find a replacement,” Jinsol says, at which Haseul laughs. Sooyoung doesn’t look at her, instead focusing on the rest of her meal. 

“Oh, Sooyoungie, you got a new piercing?” the bartender remarks, climbing up a stepladder to reach a high shelf. 

Sooyoung touches her ear. “Ah. Yes, Jinsol pierced it for me.” 

Haseul leans toward them from her perch on the ladder, and Jinsol half expects the entire thing to tip over, but it seems the bartender has excellent balance. “Your  _ boss  _ pierced your ear for you? Damn, is your company hiring? Never mind. Jinsol, how’d you do it? Did you have to tie her down? She cried, didn’t she? Quickly.” 

Sooyoung turns fully in her seat to glare at her and Jinsol presses her lips together to keep from laughing. “We signed an NDA.” 

“All right, keep your secrets.” Haseul hops down from the top rung of the ladder, landing gracefully. “Can’t say I want to go to court again.” 

Both Sooyoung and Jinsol stop chewing and say in unison, “Again?” 

-

Putting on her seatbelt, Jinsol asks, “Is there a liquor store nearby?” 

Sooyoung turns to look at her from the passenger seat. “Uh, yes. Two, three blocks from here.” 

“Let’s buy some beer.” Jinsol turns the key in the ignition. “I’ll teach you how to drink.” 

-

They leave the car and take a taxi to the waterfront, Sooyoung carrying a six-pack and leading the way down to a quiet area away from the public entrance. They sit on the sand, Jinsol slipping off her shoes. Sooyoung plops down the six-pack, slices the plastic packaging open with a small rock, and offers a can to Jinsol. 

“It’s so quiet,” Jinsol says, plucking at the tab on the top of the can. 

“People don’t visit this place a lot,” Sooyoung says. “Especially not at this time of day.” 

“Do you come here often?” 

“Yes, when I used to go jogging. Or when I want to sit and think… or sometimes when I want to swim in the ocean.” Sooyoung’s unopened beer can looks smaller than usual inside her hand. “Swimming in the ocean is great.” 

Jinsol pops the top of her beer. “I know I said I’d teach you how to drink, but all I really know are wine manners and such. For this kind of thing, you just have to drink the whole thing right away, okay?” 

Sooyoung pulls the tab of her beer can a little awkwardly. “All right.” 

“Let’s toast.” 

They tap the sides of their cans together, then Jinsol tips its contents down her throat. Her standards for this brew were already low, but this shit closely resembles carbonated pond scum. Beside her, Sooyoung splutters and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. 

“Yeah, since this stuff is so bad, any other alcohol you have after this will only be better,” Jinsol tells her. “Trust me.” 

“This is my lowest point,” Sooyoung coughs, peering hopelessly into her can. 

A few more sips, and Sooyoung seems to adjust to the taste. Jinsol opens a couple more and passes her one of them. They sit in silence, Sooyoung taking longer and longer sips. This amount of alcohol is nowhere close enough to getting Jinsol buzzed, but she feels herself relaxing anyway. 

“The sun will set soon,” she says, then tilts her head to look at the caretaker. “Either you were acting or you learned fast, but you’re a good drinker.” 

Sooyoung digs the bottom of her empty can into the sand, next to the other ones. “I wasn’t allowed to drink when I was competing. Others would anyway, but I didn’t want to be blamed for the alcohol if I didn’t perform good enough.” A breeze ruffles her hair, and she pushes it out of her face. “I was an arrow then. Do you ask an arrow where it’s going, what it’s doing? You can’t. Nothing is under its skin. It’s just a stick, it  _ is  _ a purpose. It has no purpose.”

“Damn,” Jinsol says. She scratches her head. “You ever thought about starting a podcast?” 

Sooyoung huffs a laugh. “I got smacked a lot because my record didn’t get better. One time my forehead was torn up when a pile of books was thrown at me. Now I’ve built up an immunity to blunt head trauma.” 

Jinsol isn’t sure what to say to that. “I also stopped drinking a while ago.” 

Sooyoung merely hums, and Jinsol glances at her. “You’re not going to ask why?” 

“I don’t want to push.” The caretaker fiddles with the buttons on her sleeve. 

“Aren’t you curious about me?” 

“I am curious.” Sooyoung rubs her neck, squinting at the hovering sun. “But I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable all the time. You’re here to rest.” 

Jinsol regards the remaining beer cans. “Well, since we’re curious about each other, and we have to finish these beers, do you want to play a game with me?” 

“A game?” Sooyoung turns her face from the sky to look at her. 

“If I tell you a secret, you’ll have to tell me a secret that you think is similar,” Jinsol says. She’s not nearly drunk enough for this but damn if she’s not going to take the opportunity to resolve some questions she has about this caretaker. “If you can’t, then…” She holds up her can. “One shot of pond scum.” 

The caretaker’s eyes slide from the can in Jinsol’s hand up to her eyes. “I’ll do it.” 

_ If I screw this up, so be it,  _ Jinsol thinks. “To be honest, I’m not here to rest. I ran away, too.” 

The wind blows Sooyoung’s hair back into her eyes. The setting sun slants across her face. “While it’s true that I ran back out here away from the city on my own, I wasn’t willing to.” 

“Did you get into an accident?” Jinsol asks. 

“It’s President’s turn,” Sooyoung says, tucking her hair behind her ears. 

“Well, I’m not an athlete, or have any related secrets,” Jinsol replies, pulling her jacket closer around her. “And the rules are strict.” 

Sooyoung snorts. “It’s just a game.” 

Jinsol sighs and swallows a mouthful of her beer. Somehow it’s even more disgusting. Time to throw in all her cards. “There’s this person I dated since high school. Those years when I had to wear the school uniform were my happiest years.” She stares at the sun sinking below the horizon line, aware of Sooyoung’s eyes on her. “I felt like the protagonist of my life was her, not me. The desire to stay with her grew as we did, and the thought that she might leave always terrified me. Because I didn’t have any confidence in how long I might be loved.” She takes another swig despite her past unpleasant experience. “If we break up, I'd be left alone with nothing. With this kind of anxious state, one day I got angry and used being drunk as an excuse. We broke up because of my mistake.” 

Jinsol draws up her knees to tuck under her chin. “After that, I couldn’t bear to stay away from her, so I hovered around, even though we weren’t lovers anymore. Sometimes, she’d look for me whenever she needed someone just for that night, but otherwise it was over.” 

“Is that why you stopped drinking?” Sooyoung’s voice is low. 

Nodding, Jinsol says, “I thought that if I completely stopped, she’d come back. Maybe if I didn’t make the same mistake again, she’d return to me someday.” 

She’s never talked about this out loud before. It’s cathartic, and her chest feels lighter, softer. “I think I’m getting more and more afraid of changes, and clinging to things that are familiar. You know? But I wanted to hang onto what we had as long as I could.” 

“Even if it’s not love?” Sooyoung asks. 

Jinsol rips the tab off the top of her can. “I don’t know if I can call it that.” 

Sooyoung lowers her head so her hair covers her face. “Ah… I’m sorry.” 

“No, I’ve talked too much,” Jinsol says. She leans back to observe Sooyoung, who’s staring down at her hands. “Do you have a similar experience, caretaker?” 

Sooyoung wets her lips with the tip of her tongue, lacing her fingers together in her lap. “There are a lot of relationships that happen between athletes in the Olympic Village. So something like that happened to me.” 

Jinsol raises an eyebrow. “The Olympic Village?” 

“My opponent was also a swimmer in the same event,” Sooyoung says. “She’s a very famous athlete, supported by conglomerates and sponsored by big companies. In other words, a celebrity.” 

“So you felt inferior?” Jinsol asks. 

“No, she never made me feel that way,” Sooyoung answers. “She was the best of us, hardworking and humble. But as you know, I didn’t have the drive for that kind of career, and it became obvious that I stayed only for her. But I was a hindrance… to her.”

Sooyoung takes a sip from her can and grimaces. “We were caught by the media, and even though we thought it would be okay, the reality was very different. She had too much to lose if I did something wrong, so I had no choice but to leave her.” 

“But it's the Olympic Village,” Jinsol says. “Was the problem that you two were dating each other, or even dating at all?” 

“That’s it for my turn,” Sooyoung states, putting her can aside. 

Jinsol eyes her from the side, rubbing her bottom lip with her thumbnail. “Well…”

Sooyoung turns to look at her. Jinsol takes the plunge. “Last night, I was thinking of sleeping with you.” 

Sooyoung’s gaze flickers over her face, down to her mouth, then back up to her eyes. “Oh.” She looks away quickly. “When I was trying to do CPR on you, I did see it.” She makes a vague gesture over Jinsol’s chest, speaking rapidly. “I was supposed to place pressure there but I couldn’t because the buttons -“

“Caretaker,” Jinsol says, grasping Sooyoung’s chin to turn her head back towards her. “I think I’m attracted to you.” 

Sooyoung’s ears are pink and her cheeks flushed, but her eyes are steady and so clear that one might think them to be shallow then drown in their depths. She leans forward so that her forehead bumps against Jinsol’s, their noses brushing. “I know.” 

_ Fuck,  _ Jinsol thinks, then closes the distance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haseul........ the children miss you


	9. 9

IX

The sun is completely gone, which means the air is chilly and any residual heat in the sand has escaped. 

Jinsol feels like she’s burning up. 

She’s always thought of herself as a pretty good kisser, proficient even, but the way Sooyoung immediately responds to her touch makes her chest feel as if it’s packed with red-hot gravel. Strong fingers tangle themselves in her long black hair as Jinsol is pulled even closer; she fists her hands into the front of Sooyoung’s shirt and presses back just as hard, tasting Sooyoung’s inexplicable apple flavor on her tongue underneath the bitter alcohol. Sooyoung gently scratches her blunt nails against Jinsol’s scalp as she runs her tongue along her bottom lip, making white-hot pleasure drip down her spine. 

Jinsol pulls back slightly to catch her breath, off balance from the onslaught of sensations, and Sooyoung chases after her, curling her fingers in her hair. Jinsol lets go of her shirt to slip her hands inside Sooyoung’s open jacket, running her palms down the curve of her rib cage and over the hard lines of her abdomen. Sooyoung scrapes her teeth against Jinsol’s lip, biting down briefly, and Jinsol lets out a small breathless moan. 

“President?” Sooyoung breaks away, worry forming in her brow. Her hands slacken in Jinsol’s hair, smoothing the strands gently, but her eyes are unfathomably dark, pupils completely eclipsing her brown irises. 

Jinsol was never fireproof, but now, she doesn’t mind. She gets to her feet, pulling Sooyoung up with her. “Let’s go back home.” 

-

Her hair finally dry, Jinsol emerges from the bathroom to see Sooyoung already sitting on the edge of her bed wearing a henley and loose pants, her hands clasped in her lap. Hearing the door open, the caretaker’s gaze immediately fixes on her, burning wherever it lands. Jinsol isn’t even wearing anything too revealing - just a crewneck sweatshirt and shorts, but that does nothing to dim the way Sooyoung looks at her. 

Jinsol goes to stand in between Sooyoung’s parted knees, reaching down to push her hair behind her ear. “You’ve been taking good care of your piercing.” 

“You told me it shouldn’t be taken off for the time being,” Sooyoung says, her voice slightly husky. 

“So obedient.” 

Jinsol remembers Sooyoung’s reaction when she’d touched her ear then, and experimentally runs her thumb down the curve of Sooyoung’s ear before tugging at her earlobe. True to form, Sooyoung’s eyelids flutter as a muscle in her jaw jumps; intrigued, Jinsol’s about to repeat the motion when she’s suddenly yanked down into Sooyoung’s lap, her legs reflexively parting to straddle the other woman’s waist as Sooyoung steadies her with her hands on the tops of her thighs. 

“I don’t like being teased,” Sooyoung mutters against the underside of her jaw as her fingers slip just under the hem of Jinsol’s shorts. 

“Pity,” Jinsol says, struggling to keep it together as she feels lips against the spot on her neck where her pulse bobs like a lure. “I like teasing.” 

“I fucking know,” Sooyoung growls before slipping her hands under Jinsol’s thighs and standing, lifting Jinsol up with ease. Jinsol wraps her legs around Sooyoung’s waist as she’s turned around and laid down on her back onto the bed, Sooyoung bending over her. 

The caretaker’s gaze softens slightly as she looks down at Jinsol. “To be honest, I’ve thought about this.” 

Jinsol reaches for the hem of Sooyoung’s shirt and starts to pull it up. “Thought about what?” 

Sooyoung’s eyes narrow, and she straightens up to strip off her henley in one fluid motion. She immediately leans back down again to cage Jinsol with her body, breathing hotly against her ear. “Putting a stop to your teasing.” 

“Mm,” Jinsol manages to reply as Sooyoung starts kissing along her jaw, moving towards her mouth. “Does it involve me being naked?” 

Sooyoung slides a hand into Jinsol’s hair at the side of her head, sucking briefly on Jinsol’s lower lip and releasing it with a pop. Jinsol’s hips cant upwards reflexively and Sooyoung’s other hand wraps around the side of her waist to hold her steady. “Depends, is that what you want?” 

“If you don’t take my goddamn clothes off,” Jinsol grits out, scratching her nails against Sooyoung’s taut stomach, “I’ll do it myself.” 

Sooyoung’s mouth twitches at the threat, but she grabs the hem of Jinsol’s sweatshirt and tugs it up over her head, slipping her hand under the back of Jinsol’s neck. Jinsol shifts under Sooyoung’s intense gaze as the sweatshirt is discarded somewhere on the floor. Sooyoung moves the both of them a little higher up on the bed, taking the opportunity to slide Jinsol’s shorts down her legs, her hands caressing her calves. Jinsol watches, impatient but intrigued nonetheless; for all her energy, Sooyoung is treating her so carefully. 

Sooyoung slips her hands under the string of Jinsol’s underwear as she moves back up her body. “Fuck, you’re beautiful.” 

Jinsol tries to ignore the bloom of warmth in her rib cage, focusing instead on a different kind of heat further below. “And you’re slow.” 

“What’s the rush?” Without waiting for an answer, Sooyoung leans down and hungrily presses her lips against Jinsol’s. 

Jinsol runs her hands up Sooyoung’s naked back, feeling the smooth muscles under her palms as Sooyoung licks into her mouth. Her pelvis is pressed directly against Jinsol’s center, and when Sooyoung pushes her hips down Jinsol makes an embarrassingly high-pitched noise against her lips; suddenly motivated to pull more similar sounds out of her, Sooyoung breaks away to work her way down her body, leaving red marks around and between Jinsol’s breasts with her mouth. Jinsol arches her back, squeezing her eyes shut and tangling her hands in Sooyoung’s hair as long fingers grip her hips and a hot tongue swirls around her nipple. 

“Enjoying yourself?” Sooyoung blows cool air onto the flushed skin. 

Jinsol removes her hands from the other woman’s hair to put them over the hands splayed over her hips, holding them tightly. “I thought you didn’t like teasing?”

“I don’t like wasting time,” Sooyoung tells her, her lips brushing against her stomach. “Unless you want me to go slower?”

_ “Fuck, _ no,” Jinsol groans, flinging her arm over her eyes. 

She feels Sooyoung chuckle against her skin before a kiss is pressed just above the edge of her underwear. “You’re so pretty.” 

Jinsol is about to smack her when she feels soft lips move firmly over the front of her underwear, directly over her center; her entire body jerks, and Sooyoung’s hands clamp around her hips again, holding her in place as she starts to pull her underwear down. 

“So pretty,” Sooyoung mumbles again before delving into her with her tongue. 

Jinsol keeps her arm over her eyes as her body is wracked with blinding pleasure; Sooyoung’s tongue works against her expertly, her hands holding her legs open. Her eyes are shut so tightly that iridescent patterns start to bloom in the blackness behind her eyelids. Every time Sooyoung brushes against a certain spot, her body convulses and the noises that escape her are getting harder to control. The gentleness with which Sooyoung’s thumbs rub against the inside of her thighs contrasts with the volcanic pressure building up in her core; Jinsol suddenly finds herself fighting to breathe, tears escaping from her tightly closed eyes. She feels as if she’s fraying at the seams. 

Sooyoung seems to immediately sense that something’s wrong, because she pulls away to move back up Jinsol’s body, her hands leaving Jinsol’s thighs to tug her arm away from her face. “President?”

Jinsol’s chest clenches painfully at the title. Sooyoung looks down at her, concern marring her expression, propping herself up with one arm while the other hand goes to stroke Jinsol’s hair out of her face. This was a fucking horrible mistake, she’s nowhere near being ready for any of this. “Sooyoung.”

It’s the first time she’s said the caretaker’s name. Sooyoung’s expression goes through varying stages of surprise as Jinsol reaches up to caress her face, thumb sliding across her bottom lip. Jinsol says, “You don’t have to go to work starting tomorrow.” 

-

“Tomorrow at 10:30 A.M.,” Jinsol speaks into the phone, looking at her itinerary in her hand. “Yes, I know.”

Talking with her secretary is no more fun over the phone than it is in person. Jinsol sighs through her nose as she waits for him to wrap up some inane statement. “Hm? Ah, well that issue has been resolved already. I’ll be preparing my luggage shortly. Could you prepare some copies of those magazines for me to have during my trip?”

She hangs up just as she hears the door to her room open, something metallic clanging against the floor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> never thought i'd write a s*x scene but here we are


	10. 10

X

Jinsol drops her phone onto the table, debating whether or not she should turn around. If it’s Sooyoung, she wouldn’t know what to do. 

“Long time no see,” a hoarse voice comes from behind her. 

Jinsol  _ does _ turn around, panic taking her by the scruff of the neck. Her half-brother stands just inside the door, glancing casually around the room. Stunned, Jinsol asks, “How did you get here?”

Seohyun checks his watch, tapping the butt of a metal baseball bat in his other hand against the floor. “Great question, but I’m a little busy at the moment, so let’s exchange pleasantries later.”

The last thing Jinsol sees is the metal bat swinging up over her head. 

-

The faraway sound of the bat being dropped onto the ground brings Jinsol out of the murky void where her consciousness had retreated. The back of her skull throbs painfully, along with the entire side of her body onto which she’d fallen from her chair onto the floor. She tries to move, but her wrists and ankles are wrapped with duct tape. 

“I knew,” Jinsol croaks. She spits some of her hair out of her mouth and tries again. “I knew it was you that first time.”

Seohyun looks up from where he’s trying to crack into her phone. “Ah, you’re awake. I thought I’d killed you for a second there.” He tosses the phone onto the sofa. “It was so nice to see you again, I really did try to control my strength.” 

“What do you want this time?” Jinsol strains her wrists against the duct tape. It’s enough tape to repair an engine with. “Is it the hotel?”

“Yeah, that too,” Seohyun says, leaning onto the back of the sofa. “Even though it’s old, this building’s worth is in the millions.”

“And you think you can handle that?”

Seohyun walks around the sofa to crouch next to Jinsol, his gaze dangerous. “How about handing it over and begging for your life?”

Jinsol stares back up at him. “How about fucking off?”

For a second Jinsol thinks he’s about to bash her head in one more time, but Seohyun only laughs and shakes his head. “Rude bitch.” Getting back up, he walks away. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything.” 

Jinsol can’t see where he went, so when he suddenly leans over her again, she jumps, then flinches again when she sees the rope in his hands. Her neck, almost completely healed, inexplicably starts to hurt again. Trying to scoot away, she hisses, “I’ll kill you.”

“Terrifying,” Seohyun muses as he ties the rope into a noose. “I’m terrified. So scared, in fact, that I’m letting you know-” Jinsol sees his shadow as he leans down close to her ear. “I never thought of you as a family member.”

The noose suddenly slips around her head, hooking under her chin, and Jinsol is hauled up into a sitting position. The rope tears into the fragile skin of her throat as Seohyun grunts with the effort. Jinsol tries to struggle, but her vision is rapidly darkening. 

“Just die quickly,” Seohyun snarls in her ear. 

Jinsol’s lifted almost completely off the ground when there’s a sound of a door slamming just outside. “President?”

“Shit!” Seohyun drops her onto the floor, Jinsol’s head hitting the tile again in the same spot. Her vision swims as a wad of cloth is forced into her mouth; she dimly sees Seohyun scramble over to his baseball bat. 

“President,” Sooyoung’s voice comes from somewhere on the other side of the door, echoing inside her head. “Are you here?” 

Jinsol tries to blink the haze out of her eyes. She’s lying next to her vanity; if she could reach it, she could knock it over and make a noise. She stretches her legs out, but she’s too far away. 

“I didn’t come here to work,” Sooyoung says, her voice closer now. “There’s something I really want to tell you.” 

Mustering all of her core strength, Jinsol manages to scoot herself closer to the vanity. She’s so close. 

“President?” Sooyoung’s voice is just outside the door. 

Jinsol kicks her heel against the foot of the vanity. It topples over and the mirror on its surface shatters against the floor. 

In her peripheral vision, Jinsol sees the door open. Sooyoung’s head pokes in slowly, looking around before spotting Jinsol curled on the floor bound up with duct tape and the gag in her mouth. Sooyoung’s eyes widen in alarm as she rushes into the room towards her.  _ “President -” _

There’s a gut-wrenching  _ CRACK _ as Seohyun brings his metal bat down onto Sooyoung’s head from behind, sprawling her out onto the floor. Jinsol screams through the gag as she sees blood start to flow through Sooyoung’s hair. 

Seohyun drops the bat again, breathing hard. “Fucking hell,” he mutters, nudging Sooyoung’s prone body with his foot. “What should I do? How do I get rid of this one…”

He paces to the other side of the room, looking out the window. Jinsol blearily watches as Sooyoung silently rolls over and gets to her feet behind him as if she just wasn’t dealt a concussion. Seohyun wipes at the sweat on his forehead, peering out into the driveway. “How can I handle -”

Sooyoung pounces on him from behind, grabbing him around the neck and shoving him against the wall in one fluid motion. Seohyun manages to make a shocked choking noise before Sooyoung’s laying into him with her fist, repeatedly connecting her knuckles with his face as her other hand holds him against the wall by his neck. Jinsol finally manages to spit the gag out of her mouth when she hears Seohyun’s muffled screaming as something crunches under Sooyoung’s fist. 

Jinsol gulps air back into her lungs before shouting as forcefully as she can muster,  _ “Sooyoung!” _

Sooyoung freezes mid-windup, her knuckles painted with blood. She looks back over her shoulder and when she sees Jinsol, she drops Seohyun onto the ground with a thud. Apparently Seohyun still has the mental facilities to escape; Jinsol can hear his dragging, frantic footsteps as he stumbles out of the room and down the stairs. 

Sooyoung sways slightly on her feet before walking over to her. “President -”

“Ambulance,” Jinsol rasps, her throat still raw from the rope. “Call an ambulance.” 

“President,” Sooyoung repeats, as if she hadn’t heard. The caretaker drops to her knees in front of her and rips off the duct tape around Jinsol’s wrists and ankles. She wobbles as Jinsol pushes herself up from the floor. “I’m sorry…”

Jinsol sees blood coursing down Sooyoung’s forehead and over her eye, and barely manages to catch her when Sooyoung falls over like a bag of rocks. “Sooyoung,” Jinsol says, holding her upright in her arms and wiping the blood out of the other woman’s face. There’s no response.  _ “Sooyoung!”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REMEMBER BACK IN CHAPTER 8 WHEN SOOYOUNG SAID SHES BUILT UP AN IMMUNITY TO BLUNT HEAD TRAUMA??? im a genius


	11. 11

XI

**1 month later.**

Jinsol gets into the backseat of the SUV, slamming the door behind her. The driver, a young woman with jet black hair pulled up into a high ponytail, eyes her in the rear view mirror, then holds up her phone to show a recently terminated call. “News came in from the general hospital.” 

“Good,” Jinsol says, shedding her blazer. “What was it?” 

“Ha Sooyoung is awake. Dr. Wong gives full permission for discharge.” The SUV pulls away from the curb into traffic. “Apparently her concussion was mild enough for a quick recovery since, in the doctor’s own words, she has  _ a solid rock head.” _

Jinsol laughs at that. She remembers meeting Wong Vivi during a study abroad program in her college years, and one of the first things Vivi had said to her was  _ I’m going to be a Head trauma surgeon, and the head Trauma surgeon. Don’t fuck with me!  _ And now she runs the city general hospital’s trauma division like the navy. 

“Well, it’s up to Soo- the patient now,” Jinsol says. “Any news from the investigation?” 

“We’re headed to the target.” The SUV speeds up the ramp onto the highway. “By the way, how’s your head?” 

“It’s a little sore, just a slight headache,” Jinsol admits. 

“We could do this some other day -“

Jinsol leans her head against the window. “Just drive, Hyejoo.” 

There’s a brief pause. Hyejoo flips down the shade to block the afternoon sun. “How was the presentation?” 

“Hm, better than expected,” Jinsol says. “All those talks I did at those symposiums and conferences paid off, even if they were a pain in the ass. Our stocks are rising steadily and investors are streaming in.” 

“The President is back in full form.” Hyejoo shoots her a grin in the mirror. Jinsol does her best to return it, ignoring the pain that rubs against the underside of her heart at the title. 

-

The cornfield is vast, desolate, and difficult to navigate. Jinsol picks her way through the empty stalks, Hyejoo trailing behind, making her way towards several other distant figures already standing in the center of the field. 

“I know it’s broad daylight but this shit gives me the creeps,” Hyejoo mutters, taking care to avoid touching as many of the plants as possible. 

“Well, if I could let you mow through the corn with the SUV, I would,” Jinsol tells her. 

The others turn to look at them as they approach. Jinsol glances over them, the three employees she’d entrusted with the operation - Heejin from IT, Chaewon from the local PD, and Hyunjin, one of her bodyguards. Hyunjin leans on a shovel, which she’s planted next to the head of Jinsol’s half-brother who’s been buried in the ground up to his neck. 

“You fucking bitch!” Seohyun shrieks as soon as he sees Jinsol. “Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare do this to me!” 

“He’s still got the energy to scream. Can we fix that?” Heejin says, far too excitedly for someone in IT. She had been the one to find Seohyun by hacking into his bank account. 

“Well, it’s all he  _ can  _ do,” Hyunjin observes, crossing her arms. 

Seohyun strains his neck from side to side. Jinsol can still see the fading bruises from where Sooyoung’s fingers had dug in. “I won’t stay still and let you -“

“Ah, but you’re not going anywhere,” Jinsol says, going to stand directly in front of him, the toes of her boots in his face. “I don’t get it. Money?” She lifts one foot and presses it against the side of Seohyun’s face. “Power?” She grinds the sole of her boot down harder. “Social status?” Seohyun starts to blubber as the tread of her boot tears into his skin. “You had all of these things, same as me. Why couldn’t you just leave me alone?” She pulls her foot away to admire the boot-shaped print on her half-brother’s face. “You couldn’t stand the idea of my father leaving me everything he had?” 

Seohyun glares up at her. “He might have been our father, but you’re no sister of mine.” 

“I don’t care.” Jinsol scuffs some more dirt onto his neck. “Don’t think of this as revenge. I don’t have the energy to expend that kind of shit on a pathetic bastard like you. This whole scene is a bit dramatic but…” She clips Seohyun’s chin with her boot one last time, making his teeth rattle. “You shouldn’t have hurt the people around me.” 

Jinsol nods to Hyunjin, who hefts the shovel. “Take care,” Jinsol tells Seohyun as she turns to leave. 

“I know her!” Seohyun’s voice rises to a desperate scream behind her. “That Ha Sooyoung, the one who’s always next to you. Her parents used to work at that same hotel!” 

Jinsol stops walking, but doesn’t turn around. “So what.” 

“Her parents, how they used to leech from your father’s resources to run the hotel!” Seohyun screeches. “You think it’s a coincidence that the daughter of those parasites is working for you? Maybe she knows what you’re like! She thinks she can make an easy living off of you! She’s probably fucking waiting around, figuring out how to take as much from you as she possibly can!” 

Seohyun screams again as the shovel is swiftly stabbed into the ground right in front of his face. Hyunjin says in a flat voice, “That’s enough.” 

Jinsol starts walking again as Seohyun resorts to pleading for mercy. Hyejoo catches up to her, saying, “We can investigate Ha Sooyoung if you want.” 

“No,” Jinsol states, making her way out of the corn field. 

-

Standing at the top of the hotel’s grand staircase, Jinsol watches the swarm of people moving in and out of the front entrance and throughout the rooms, all either preoccupied with their tasks, hauling furniture or calling out instructions to each other. She glances at the time.  _ She should be here by now.  _

As if on cue, the front doors bang open and a dark head of hair appears among the crowd, pushing through the throng of people towards the foot of the staircase. “President!” 

Jinsol stuffs her trembling hands into her pockets when Sooyoung emerges from the crowd, looking around. When their eyes meet, she feels something like a faint burst of electricity in her spine. Sooyoung looks at her for a moment before calling up the stairs, “What’s going on? Are you trying to demolish the hotel?” 

“Does this look like a demolition?” Jinsol says. “We’re preparing for the grand opening. I’ve decided to run the hotel.” 

“Oh,” Sooyoung says. She starts to climb up the stairs. 

Jinsol stands as still as she can and watches her as she gets closer. “You don’t seem very excited.” 

“Ah, no,” Sooyoung says quickly, coming to a stop on the step below where Jinsol is standing. “I just wasn’t expecting…” Her sentence trails away as she looks up at Jinsol. 

“I’m planning to stay here for the time being,” Jinsol tells her, trying not to fidget. “Or maybe I’ll stay here for a long time. Either way, I’ve gone for too long without working.” 

Sooyoung looks completely at a loss for words. Maybe that hit on the head did something after all. Jinsol turns and walks into one of the empty rooms, beckoning Sooyoung to follow her. “Come on.” 

Shutting the door behind them, Jinsol asks, “Aren’t you happy that I’m running the hotel?” 

Sooyoung pulls at her shirtsleeves, looking plainly distraught. “It’s not that…” She bites her lip briefly. “Why are you talking formally to me again?” 

Caught off guard, Jinsol asks, “When did I not?” 

“Well, you called me by my name before, and -“

“Maybe you’re remembering wrong because of your concussion.” 

“I remember it perfectly,” Sooyoung protests. “I wasn’t even hurt that badly. The doctor said I have a very rare case of solid rock head.” 

Jinsol tries and fails to hide a smile at Sooyoung’s earnestness. “Yeah, that kind of head is pretty rare.” 

Sooyoung’s eyes dart over her face. Restless, Jinsol changes the subject. “You haven’t seen me in over a month, and when I said I’d stay here and run the hotel, this is all you can talk about?” 

“I…” A muscle jumps in Sooyoung’s jaw. “I miss you.” 

Something knits itself back together inside Jinsol’s rib cage. “Come here.” 

Almost before she’s done speaking, Sooyoung bodily collides into her with a messy embrace, burying her face into the crook of her neck as her arms wrap tightly around Jinsol, one hand holding the back of her head while the other curls around her middle. Closing her eyes and leaning her head into the side of Sooyoung’s neck, Jinsol says, “Sooyoung.” 

“Yes?” The caretaker’s voice is muffled. 

“I have something to ask you.” 

-

_ Is there anything you’re hiding from me?  _

Sooyoung had pulled away to look at her, eyebrows furrowing at the question. Jinsol had taken her hands reassuringly, saying, “I heard that your parents used to work here.” 

“Yes. That’s true.” Sooyoung had looked down at their hands, then back up at her. “It’s… I hadn’t meant to hide it on purpose.” 

“That doesn’t matter. What I want to know is, do you know anything about my mother?” 

Jinsol sits on one of the lounge chairs next to the pool, paging through the leather-bound book Sooyoung had given her. Her accompanying words replay in Jinsol’s head.  _ She entrusted this to my parents. This is the diary written by President’s mother while she stayed here. While she was pregnant with you.  _

Scanning through the entries, Jinsol reaches the date she had been dreading. Her birthday. Under the date, the handwriting is crowded and thin, as if moved by some uncontrollable emotion. 

_ My baby is here.  _

_ I fell in love at first sight. How was I able to have a baby like this? She’s perfect.  _

_ I doubted that I could give her a bright future. But now that she’s here, I’ve changed my mind. Jinsol-ah, Mom will create the best future for you.  _

_ Let’s live. We will live no matter what.  _

_ Tomorrow I will be leaving the hotel. I’ve decided to leave this diary with Mr. and Mrs. Ha.  _

A photograph falls out between the pages. It’s of Jinsol’s mother, a beautiful woman with long black hair and luminous smile, holding a little shapeless bundle that could have been anything if not for the sprout of hair where the head should be. Jinsol looks at the picture of herself in her dead mother’s arms before putting it back between the pages, closing the diary and setting it aside. 

Sooyoung, who’s sitting at the edge of the pool with her feet in the water, doesn’t look up when Jinsol sits next to her. 

“This diary,” Jinsol says. “You weren’t intending to give it to me until I asked.”

“I wanted to give it to you as soon as possible, but it was our first time meeting each other, and…” Sooyoung runs a hand through her hair. “I wasn’t sure how to approach you about it. I thought I should gain your trust first.” 

Jinsol has a sudden irrational flashback to when Sooyoung had her pinned underneath her on the bed. Quickly, she says, “Well, it’s not even mine either so you don’t have to apologize.” 

Sooyoung huffs a shaky breath. Jinsol glances over to see tears trickling down her cheeks. “Why are you crying?” 

“I’m sorry,” the caretaker mumbles, swiping the back of her hand across her eyes. 

“You read the diary as well?” Jinsol asks gently. 

“Yes.” Sooyoung lifts the hem of her shirt to dry her face. “President, I think that man who attacked you is really dangerous. You can’t keep staying here.” 

Jinsol scoots closer to Sooyoung’s side and wipes away a teardrop on her eyelash with her thumb. “I can. I’m not in danger anymore, and you aren’t either. I’ll make sure there won’t be any more threats in the future.” 

Sooyoung looks at her, her liquid eyes wide and beautiful. “Can I kiss you?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the scenario of heejin, hyunjin and gowon burying a man alive in a cornfield in broad daylight is so fucking funny


	12. 12

XII

The lights in Jinsol’s room are turned down low, and any residual brightness seems to be concentrated in Sooyoung’s eyes as Jinsol straddles her on the bed, leaning down to kiss her eagerly. Sooyoung’s hands slide under Jinsol’s shirt and up her back towards her bra, undoing the clasp as Jinsol threads her fingers through her hair. 

Pulling away slightly, Jinsol asks, “Does your head still hurt? I didn’t touch your injury, did I?” 

“No, it’s okay.” Sooyoung seems to have difficulty speaking. “But it might hurt if you pull my hair.” 

“I’ll be careful, but you have to tell me if it hurts anywhere,” Jinsol says, smoothing Sooyoung’s hair out of her face. 

“You, too,” Sooyoung replies before stripping Jinsol’s shirt off of her. 

Jinsol tips her head back, shutting her eyes as Sooyoung’s mouth latches onto the knob of her collarbone. After sucking a red mark into the skin there, Sooyoung murmurs against her chest, “I need you to talk to me, okay? Tell me if you want it, and I’ll keep going, so you don’t get hurt. Could you do that, President?” 

“All right,” Jinsol manages to say. “And don’t call me President anymore.”

Sooyoung hums as she kisses her between her breasts. “Jinsol.” 

A painful throb of arousal courses through Jinsol at that. She grinds down into Sooyoung’s lap.  _ “Fuck.”  _

“Jinsollie,” Sooyoung mumbles as she drags her lips over her nipple. “Talk to me.” 

Jinsol puts her hands on Sooyoung's shoulders and pushes so that the other woman is flat on her back on the bed. “I want you to touch me.” 

Sooyoung slides her fingers inside the waistband of Jinsol’s shorts and waits. “I want it,” Jinsol says. 

The shorts are pulled down, leaving her in her underwear. Sooyoung’s eyes are pitch black as she brushes her fingertips against the fabric, but doesn’t go any further until Jinsol pants, “I want it.” 

When Sooyoung enters her slowly with two fingers, Jinsol’s body goes taut with the feeling, heightened by the sudden sensation of Sooyoung’s mouth latching onto one of her breasts. “Sooyoung,” Jinsol moans, burying her face into the other woman’s neck. 

Jinsol can’t stop panting out her name as Sooyoung works her open. The caretaker’s tanned skin glows as she holds Jinsol steady around her waist with her other arm. “I like it when you call my name like that.” 

“Probably because I’m moaning it,” Jinsol breathes, digging her fingers into Sooyoung’s back. 

“Well, not just that…”

_ “Sooyoung,”  _ Jinsol husks out, clenching around her. 

Sooyoung’s fingers suddenly curl in a way that makes stars burst across her vision. Jinsol has enough presence of mind to moan her name one more time before she’s suddenly flung headlong into her release. When she comes back to herself, Sooyoung is stroking her hair softly, pressing kisses along her shoulder. 

“You’re so beautiful, Jinsollie,” the caretaker murmurs before suddenly flipping them so that Jinsol’s lying on the bed with Sooyoung on top of her. Sooyoung wastes no time gripping her thighs and pushing them apart, ducking her head in between. Jinsol can only moan as Sooyoung starts to clean her up. 

It feels so fucking good, but an unwelcome pressure is starting to build in her chest again. Jinsol recognizes it from last time and tries to speak, but her body won’t respond. All she can do is squeeze her eyes shut and try to hold the tears back. 

She feels Sooyoung leave a soft kiss on her inner thigh, then pull away and move back up towards her face. She pauses for a moment before lowering herself onto Jinsol, providing a comforting weight to counter the horrible pressure. 

“Keep going,” Jinsol murmurs weakly. 

Sooyoung’s voice rumbles against her. “I’ll stay like this for a moment.” 

“I’m fine.” 

“That’s why we’re taking it slow.” 

Fingers slide across Jinsol’s cheeks, dashing the tears away. 

“I’ll wait,” Sooyoung murmurs, “until you feel okay again.” 

A different kind of warmth billows up inside Jinsol. She wraps her arms around Sooyoung and holds her tightly against herself. “Thank you.” She presses her lips against the caretaker’s forehead. “Sooyoung.” 

-

Jinsol squints her eyes against the sunlight streaming in through the window, feeling the slight soreness burn in her muscles as she stretches languidly. Beside her, Sooyoung stirs awake, rubbing her eyes. 

“Did you sleep well?” Sooyoung asks, her words slurred from residual sleep. 

“Mm,” Jinsol nods, turning over to face her. “A little sore.” 

Sooyoung’s face oscillates between looking pleased with herself and worried about Jinsol. “Ah, well, if I apologized for that I wouldn’t be completely sincere.”

“You’re insufferable.”

Sooyoung’s smile lights up her entire face; Jinsol didn’t know front teeth could be so adorable. Taking Jinsol’s hand into her tanned one, Sooyoung says, “Could you employ me again?” 

Jinsol blinks. She hadn’t said anything about Sooyoung’s caretaker position being terminated after the hotel’s reopening, but Sooyoung seemed to have come to that conclusion herself. The other woman continues, “You could just give me a low salary or something like that, I don’t care. I’ll work hard on anything you want me to do. Even if you won’t be here long, let me accompany you for the time being.” 

“You think I’ll let you go?” Jinsol asks, surprised.

Sooyoung looks away. “You once told me there was someone else you liked… for a very long time.” 

_ Does she think she’s just the rebound?  _ Jinsol thinks to herself.

Getting up to lean over Sooyoung, who’s still lying on her back, Jinsol entwines their fingers together. “Don’t be jealous.” She kisses the corner of Sooyoung’s mouth, lingering. “Last night is the only thing on my mind right now.” 

Suddenly, Jinsol’s pulled back down, Sooyoung rolling over on top of her to kiss the sensitive skin under the curve of her jaw, her hands pressing down on either side of her head. “Again?” Jinsol asks, meaning to sound teasing, but the question comes out more breathless instead. 

Sooyoung plants one last kiss on her cheek before getting up, smiling. “You must be tired. Stay here and rest, I’ll wash up and prepare the bath for you.” 

-

Squeezing the towel around the ends of her hair, Jinsol picks up her phone from the dresser. There’s a missed call from last night, when she had been otherwise… preoccupied. 

Jinsol calls the number back, the line connecting almost immediately. “You called me at a late time.”

“I apologize.” Hyejoo’s voice emanating from the speaker is slightly staticky. 

“That’s all right, I couldn’t pick up because I was busy. Did something happen?”

“I know you didn’t ask for an investigation about Ha Sooyoung, but the information Seohyun gave us before his… disappearance was too concerning,” Hyejoo says. “I followed up on his claims. I’ll send you what I found.” 

The line drops before Jinsol can say anything. Putting her phone down with a sigh and reaching for her laptop, Jinsol thinks,  _ Well, how bad could it be? It should be interesting, at least.  _

-

Her phone continually dings with messages from Sooyoung, probably asking her where she is. Jinsol settles into the driver’s seat of the Porsche, ignoring the texts as she revs the engine. All she can focus on is the file Hyejoo had sent her, a block of plain text punctuated by grainy images. 

_ Ha Sooyoung allegedly met former Chairman Jung Seohyun for an interview several months ago. There is CCTV proof from the office. She was seen leaving the building with a large briefcase at that time.  _

_ I’ve also confirmed that recently, a significant sum of money was deposited into Ha Sooyoung’s account.  _

_ The depositor is Jung Seohyun.  _

Jinsol glances at the wall of notifications on her phone screen as she pulls out of the driveway.  _ So, you took a huge amount of money. And all this time, you were pretending to be innocent? As if everything you did was for my sake?  _

The phone starts to ring, and impulsively, Jinsol connects the call. Sooyoung’s voice is tight with panic. “Jinsol? Where did you go? Why is the car not here?” 

“Didn’t you recognize Jung Seohyun when you were smashing his face to a pulp?” Jinsol asks.

There’s only the sound of Sooyoung’s quick breathing. “Jinsol -”

“What kind of idiot did you take me for?” 

Jinsol cuts the call and tosses the phone into the backseat, focusing on the road as she drives towards the distant ocean. 

-

Jinsol sits near the spot where she had taught Sooyoung how to drink, her shoes kicked off somewhere behind her during her trek out to the waterfront. She presses her fingertips against her eyelids as she tries to block out the memory.  _ It doesn’t make any fucking sense… _

_ She knew my father, and my half-brother. She was working for him. But why? And what changed?  _

Someone is calling for something repeatedly in the distance, too far away for Jinsol to make out what they’re saying. She rests her head on her knees, trying to control her breathing.  _ What does she want from me?  _

_ Does she already have it? _

Whoever was shouting is getting closer, their voice clearer. Jinsol’s head snaps up when she hears her name.  _ “Jinsol!” _

Further down the way, Sooyoung runs onto the sand, holding Jinsol’s abandoned shoes in one hand. She looks around wildly before plunging into the water, calling Jinsol’s name again with heartbreaking determination. 

_ What the fuck is she doing? _ Jinsol gets up to chase after her, the plague of questions fleeing her head. The freezing water pulls at her clothes as she wades in. “Sooyoung!”

The other woman doesn’t hear her, continuing her frenzied charge. Jinsol picks up the pace, catching up to her and wrapping her arms around her from behind.  _ “Sooyoung.”  _

Sooyoung freezes, and Jinsol’s momentum causes both of them to stumble, the water rushing up over them. Jinsol coughs out a mouthful as Sooyoung hauls her back up to her feet, holding her close enough so Jinsol can hear her heart pounding. “President…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mrs. obama it's been an honor


	13. 13

XIII

They must look like a couple of drowned rats, Jinsol speculates as she sits on the sand, Sooyoung beside her. Just two gays on their gay shit. 

“What a funny turn of events,” Jinsol muses when it’s clear Sooyoung won’t say anything. “My feet were hurting so I left my shoes up on the walkway, but what the hell were you thinking? You assumed I had jumped into the sea? I may be crazy but not enough to fuck around in the ocean!”

Sooyoung hangs her head, her face hidden by her wet hair. Jinsol takes a breath, then says more gently, “I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle seeing your face again, but because of your reaction, I have no choice but to listen to whatever explanation you can give me.”

The following silence stretches long enough for Jinsol to consider just getting up and walking away, but then Sooyoung says, “My first girlfriend.” 

_ What?  _ Jinsol wraps her arms around herself. 

“She drowned.” Sooyoung’s voice is scratchy from all the shouting she did. “Alone, in my school’s swimming pool.”

Come to think of it, Jinsol remembers a similar story in the papers when she was in high school. “I saw that when it was in the news. That happened to  _ you?” _

“It was a long time ago.” Sooyoung plucks at her waterlogged sleeves. “It’s about time I had slowly started to forget. She was being bullied after someone found out about our relationship, so I found them and hurt them badly in a fight. Coincidentally, Chairman Jung - your half-brother - was considering sponsoring my athletics after I graduated, so he helped me sort out the situation.” 

Jinsol remembers the tears in Sooyoung’s eyes after she had pulled her out of the pool at the hotel.  _ So that’s why she cried… _

“It’s true that I took the money at first,” Sooyoung continues. “It was so much money that I went to my parents for advice, and they told me to return it so I did. But I only recently found out about the amount deposited more recently, and when I asked him about it, he said it was  _ as a reminder.  _ I know it was an absurd amount, so I’ll return all of it. It’s not what I wanted.” 

Jinsol leans her forehead against her hand. “Is it normal that the people around me are like this? My father would do anything if he thought it was for my sake, and it ruined me. But perhaps I’m still here also because of it.” She feels a headache coming on. “This is my life, and yet it seems there’s nothing I can do by my own will.” 

Pausing to rub at her eyes, Jinsol says, “Although I was very lucky to have come here and met you, now that I know it was planned all along -” She sighs. “It’s just, now it feels as if all of that meant nothing.” 

Sooyoung finally lifts up her head at that. “Well, as you know, your mother’s dairy… I read all of it. And when I first got the money, I also got the information about you.” There’s a pause. “It was very detailed.” 

Jinsol waits. “And?”

“You’re not angry?”

“I said I’d listen to what you have to say, so I’m still listening for now.” 

Sooyoung stares out into the sea. “As much time as I have spent together with you, the time I spent wondering what kind of person you would be felt infinitely longer. The person who wanted to meet you back then, is different from the person who missed you in the recent months.” She shifts her position so that she’s sitting in front of Jinsol, their knees almost touching. “I don’t know if you’ll believe me now, and I regret saying this in these circumstances, but…” Sooyoung’s hand touches Jinsol’s knee lightly, hesitantly. Jinsol glances up at her, and Sooyoung says, “I like you.”

Ridiculously, Jinsol feels like a box of fireworks has been set off in her chest. Sooyoung merely looks at her, solemn. Jinsol says, “And what good would come out of me believing you?”

She feels slightly bad as Sooyoung flounders, clearly at a loss for words. “I… I don’t know…”

Jinsol tries to hide her smile, but Sooyoung sees it anyway. “Why are you laughing?”

Reaching out to pat Sooyoung’s damp hair, Jinsol says, “It’s cold. Let’s go home.” 

-

The yellow streetlights strobe through the car windows as Jinsol drives away from the ocean. Sooyoung sits in the passenger seat, her hands clasped together in her lap. 

“Sooyoung,” Jinsol says. 

“Yes?”

Jinsol’s throat tightens at how quickly Sooyoung always answers her. “Even after something terrible like that happened, how could you continue to like the swimming pool and jumping into the water? How could you talk about it so calmly, as if it were a passing memory?”

“Just…” Sooyoung stares out of the window. “Just because.”

Jinsol glances over at her. “That’s all?”

“Yes. Well, these are memories I don’t want to forget, but I have to keep moving forward. Keep going.” 

_ Oh. _ Jinsol feels her heart expanding as she continues to drive. “You’ll just keep going.” 

“Yes.” 

Sooyoung touches her elbow, and Jinsol lets her take her hand, tangling their fingers together. “Just like that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well,, lemme ask the audience


	14. 14

XIV

**Several months later.**

Jinsol pulls Sooyoung away from the throng of people, retreating from the noise and crowded space of the hotel’s grand opening event. They walk together towards Jinsol’s personal room on the fourth floor, the one she’s kept all this time. 

“I remember, when I was young, my parents would bring me here sometimes,” Sooyoung says. “I would play by myself, even though there were a lot of people here then.”

“I guess you must’ve felt lonely when you were a caretaker then, with no one around,” Jinsol says, fishing around for her keycard. 

“No, President came and played with me,” Sooyoung says cheekily, just as Jinsol grabs her and pushes her into the room, shutting the door behind them. 

“Don’t sound so immature,” Jinsol says, crowding Sooyoung against the wall. “Although, it’s true I don’t get any rest because of you.” 

Sooyoung grins, caressing her face. “Is that my fault?”

Jinsol scowls, mostly for Sooyoung’s delight. “I think I’ll miss when it was just the two of us here. There’s going to be a lot of people here from now on.” 

“You’re going to be a lot busier too, right?” Sooyoung’s hands rest on her waist. 

“Yes, until it’s stabilized.”

“Is it really okay for me to just stay here? Couldn’t I help out, work with you?”

Jinsol wraps her arms around Sooyoung’s neck. “I don’t work with my girlfriend.”

“Ah.” Jinsol can actually see Sooyoung’s brain working to process what she just said. “Wait. Am I your girlfriend?”

“Yes,” Jinsol says. “You said you liked me, didn’t you?”

“But you never told me you liked me back -”

“I think you should be more grateful, instead of being so picky,” Jinsol teases. 

“How is this being picky?”

“Okay, I got it. I just need to say it, right?” Jinsol reaches up to take Sooyoung’s face in her hands. Brown eyes stare at her, full of a singular emotion. Jinsol says, “I love you.”

Sooyoung’s lips part, her fingers tightening around Jinsol’s waist. She looks as if she’s seeing color for the first time. Leaning closer, Jinsol says, “If you miss the time when it was just the two of us, we could always come here to this room.” 

“No,” Sooyoung says, her voice rough. She points behind Jinsol to the door of the bedroom. “To that room.” 

Jinsol raises an eyebrow. “I’m wearing a nice outfit, but it seems like it’ll get all wrinkled.”

That’s all the permission Sooyoung needs to lift her into her arms, kissing her deeply. Jinsol smiles against her mouth as she’s carried into the bedroom, Sooyoung kicking it shut behind them. 

From several stories below, the sounds of the event continue, however muffled. But up in Jinsol’s room on the fourth floor, it’s still only the two of them, as it always will be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m fucking crazy but i am FREE
> 
> if you want to read the original manhwa (What Does the Fox Say by Team Gaji), be warned that there's sexually explicit scenes. Also, this specific story is just a spinoff in the manhwa and was written after the primary storyline ended, so if you start reading it expecting this story, you'll be disappointed.


End file.
